Dormia Read Online Free PDF

out another scream. The plant released its grip. In one swift, powerful movement Hill scooped up Pappy Eubanks like a child and flung him over his shoulder. Pappy had turned white. Just above his ankle, his leg was obviously broken. The ankle and foot dangled loosely, as if only the skin was holding it to the rest of his leg.
    "Hill! Behind you!" screamed Judy.
    "My revolver," barked Hill. "Grab my revolver!"
    Alfonso grabbed the heavy gun and tossed it to his uncle. Hill turned, raised his pistol, and aimed it at two more charging Dragoonya plants of war.
    Pow! Pow! Pow!
    Hill fired three shots. The noise was deafening. They all heard the bullets ricochet off the concrete floor and break through glass. The plants were momentarily stunned, but recovered quickly and resumed their charge. Hill fired two more shots and looked at Judy and Alfonso.
    "Run for your lives!" he yelled.
    All three of them scrambled across the greenhouse and made for the door.
    "Grab my Gobi desert orchid!" moaned Pappy. "I-it's worth a fortune."
    Judy nodded, snagged a large purple and green orchid off a nearby shelf, and then continued running with the others. Judy carried the orchid, Alfonso carried the bloom, and Hill carried Pappy. They pushed through the door of the greenhouse, slammed it shut behind them, and rushed into the snowy yard.
    "There are five of them," groaned Pappy, who was the only one facing backwards. He moaned again and then slumped loosely against Hill. He had passed out from the pain.
    They could hear the plants pounding against the inside of the greenhouse door. Clearly, the door was about to break. Hill surveyed the snow-covered landscape.
    "Is that a plane over there?" he asked, pointing down toward the edge of Lake Witekkon. Alfonso nodded. Several hundred feet away, near the ice-covered surface of the lake, sat a rusting seaplane. The long-range plane, which had been used in the South Pacific during World War II, belonged to the Perplexons' neighbor, Martin Edlund.
    "It belongs to Old Man Edlund—he bought it at some auction," said Judy. "He claims it can fly, but I've never seen it off the ground."
    "We'll have to take that chance," Hill shouted. He started running across the field toward the plane. The others followed him. Seconds later, the greenhouse door burst open. Alfonso
glanced backwards and saw the Dragoonya plants of war moving effortlessly over the snow.
    Hill made it to the seaplane first. He cranked open the main cargo door and pushed Pappy in. He then settled into the cockpit and, to his great relief, saw the fuel indicator pointing toward the word
full.
Hill hit the starter button and after a few seconds of grinding, the plane's dual-propeller engines roared to life. Alfonso and Judy arrived and climbed inside.
    "Close the door!" yelled Hill.
    "Already done," yelled Judy.
    "Good!" said Hill. "Judy, grab that large wrench over there and hit me over the head with it."
    "What?"
    "Hit me over the head with that wrench—you need to knock me out. I really shouldn't take off in this plane in these conditions, if I'm awake, and I'm not feeling sleepy after that coffee."
    "I can't do that!" said Judy.
    "I'll do it," said Alfonso sheepishly.
    "Good lad," said Hill. "Give me a good whack, but not too hard, just enough to make me see stars. I need to be fast asleep to pull off a stunt like this!"
    Alfonso picked up the wrench that was sitting on the floor of the plane, raised it as high as he could in the cramped cabin, and brought it down on his uncle's head. It hit his skull with a dull thud. Hill immediately went slack and his head slumped off to the side. He lay motionless in the pilot's seat.
    "Oh my goodness," said Judy. "I think you may have done your uncle in."
    Alfonso glanced out the window. The Dragoonya plants of war were just a few feet away. The nearest one opened its massive jaws and leapt for the door handle. It was locked. The plant snarled. All five gathered on the ground below the window and